Lilly on Trial
by Gordon Pasha
Summary: A heinous crime has been committed in the valley and everything points to only one culprit; Lilly. Now Kate is caught between her duty to the pack's law and her love for her sister as it falls on her to preside over Lilly's trial. Meanwhile, Humphrey and Garth must put their differences aside as they attempt to clear Lilly's name. Part of A&O: The Series.
1. Crime Comes to Jasper

**We're back with another installment of ****_Alpha and Omega: The Series_****. Today's episode: ****_Lilly on Trial_****.**

**If you like this story, please check out the other stories in the Series. And don't forget to follow our community (community/Alpha-and-Omega-The-Series/102949) and forum (forum/Alpha-and-Omega-The-Series/118805) for all of the latest updates.**

**This story is beta-read and edited by Dancing Lunar Wolves.**

**Alpha and Omega and its characters are the property of Lionsgate and Crest Animation Studios.**

* * *

**I. Crime Comes to Jasper. I.**

* * *

"I can't believe all those instructions Eve made us sit through," Humphrey said as he and Kate walked through the snow-filled valley, their backs covered in white. "It's like she doesn't think we can handle things while her and Winston are gone."

Kate smiled as she turned to him. "Oh, that was nothing. You should have heard what she used to say when I was a pup and wanted to go out and play. 'Kate, don't get too close to the caribou fields. Kate, don't go playing in the mud. Kate, don't set your sister on fire.'"

"Fire?" Humphrey said in surprise.

Kate shrugged. "It's not like I wanted to hurt Lilly or anything, but her fur was just always so soft, and fluffy, and… _flammable_…."

Humphrey now noticed that Kate's golden-brown eyes had become glazed over and she just seemed to stare off into her thoughts. He waved his paw in front of them, trying to snap her out of it.

"Kate. Kate! _Kate!_" he said as loudly as he could.

Finally, Kate shook herself out of her mind and looked at Humphrey.

Humphrey smiled. "Remind me never to let you near a pack of matches!"

"Oh, Humphrey, I'm not a pyromaniac!" Kate responded with a girlish giggle.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Humphrey answered with characteristic good humor.

Kate was about to say more when Shakey's voice came from nearby. "Incoming, Humphrey!"

The couple looked up to see a large blue berry flying their way. Humphrey smiled as he realized his friends were once again trying to ambush him into a game of berry-ball. But it was no trouble; he knew he could handle it. He rose up onto his hind legs in order to swat at the berry and knock it back toward the trio. But before he could, his eyes were covered in white snow. From the rush of air beside him, he could tell the snow had come off of the now airborne Kate. Humphrey managed to wipe it from his eyes just in time to see her sail through the air and kick the fruit back towards his three friends.

As Kate landed, knocking snow everywhere, Humphrey offered a high-three. Kate immediately clapped her paw against his in celebration.

"Kate, you're getting good at this," Humphrey said.

Kate smiled proudly. "Well, I do already have some talent in that direction, you know."

Humphrey shook his head. "I wasn't talking about berry-ball. I meant that you're getting good at going with the flow and enjoying when life surprises you. You're not Miss Uptight Grumpy Alpha all the time anymore."

Kate playfully slapped Humphrey's shoulder. "Knock it off, you, or I might just become Miss Uptight Grumpy Alpha again." But the laughter in her voice told Humphrey she was not serious about that threat.

Even when focused on each other, Humphrey and Kate were alert. They knew that the trio would be sending the berry back in their direction very soon. And here it came.

"Let me have this one, Kate," Humphrey said. "I need to get a shot in, too!"

"Okay," Kate answered. "Just be sure not to hurt yourself."

"Oh, ha ha," Humphrey responded.

But now he focused on the berry. It was coming down toward him. He lifted himself up slightly on his hind legs, ready to whack it. This proved unnecessary, as the berry was descending in a narrower arc than he had estimated. He dropped back down to his natural posture and found it was just right to catch the blue ball coming toward him. He prepared to give it a good slug.

He never got the chance. Much to Humphrey's surprise, a black paw reached out and grabbed hold of the berry. He saw too that this paw was attached to a black wolf – well, not really a wolf as he was of somewhat smaller build and had rather curly fur. He was also marked as different due to the purple collar around his neck, from which came a cord that connected it with the strange sight of a pair of pince-nez spectacles on the bridge of this individual's snout. It was not hard for Humphrey to conclude that this must be a wolf-dog.

The wolf-dog brought the berry to his mouth and gobbled it up. Then he adjusted his spectacles and smiled goofily. Humphrey looked at him blankly, both because he could not believe his rudeness and because he had never seen this individual before.

"And just who in the name of the moon are you?" Humphrey asked.

Much to his surprise, the wolf-dog thrust out a paw toward him. "Walton Bradby Yards, illustrious poet, at your service," he answered.

Humphrey looked at the paw in confusion for a second or two. Then he noticed Kate out of the corner of his eye motioning for him to take it. So he did and was startled when the wolf-dog began to shake it vigorously.

"Walton is the son of an old friend of dad's," Kate now explained.

"Yes," Walton said, before she could say more. "He's what you people call a lone wolf. And a painter, but that's neither here nor there. My mom's a champion show-dog and I usually live with her down south, across the border. But I wanted to get back to my roots, you know, so I decided to come up here and see how you primitive wolf people live."

Kate, though obviously annoyed by being interrupted, tried to remain civil. It was hard for her. "Walton's father asked dad if he could be allowed to come up here and stay with us for a while. Dad said yes."

Walton nodded. "I figured if I could get in touch with your simple country customs, the pure customs of my ancestors, it might inspire me to even greater feats of poetry. And then they'd have to give me the Nobel Prize!"

Humphrey was about to say something witty to regain control of the situation, but he was surprised that Walton did not wait around. Instead, the wolf-dog wandered off, muttering half-formed poems under his breath, as though he was the only creature in Jasper Park. Humphrey, still as confused as ever, could do nothing but watch him go.

"How long's he staying?" Humphrey asked once he felt that he could manage it.

"A few weeks at most," Kate answered.

Humphrey shook his head in disbelief. "Heaven help us. But, since our game of berry ball is ruined, what do you want to do now?"

Kate's eyes lit up as she remembered what they had to do that day. "Oh, Lilly is spending the day with us because Garth has some sort of 'official' business to take care of. He wants us to come over and pick her up."

"Wait, why can't Lilly come here herself?" Humphrey asked. "Garth knows she's a big girl now, right?"

Kate shook her head, but a smile was on her face. "He's just overprotective, Humphrey. That's all."

* * *

"Sir, we have to go now!" Edgar said as he stood outside of Garth and Lilly's den, refusing to enter.

"Okay, okay," Garth said, obviously not liking to be rushed. "Where are Kate and Humphrey? Leave it to them to be late!"

"It's okay, honey," Lilly said as she sat in the corner, patiently humoring another of her mate's moods. "I can take care of myself until they get here."

Garth shook his head. "I know, Lilly, but I don't like the thought of you being alone on this side of the valley. I don't know if my pack has accepted you yet, and with dad and your parents gone to that inter-pack conference, there isn't the same… um…."

"The same possibility of their spines being violently removed if they do anything to me?" Lilly asked with a knowing smile.

Garth smiled himself. "Something like that."

"Come on, sir!" Edgar groaned. "The caribou-thieves aren't going to catch themselves!"

Garth glared over his shoulder at Edgar, who was barely visible and who refused to even face the den. What was he supposed to do now? This was pressing Alpha business, but he had never left Lilly alone by herself on this side of the valley before. At least when Tony was still around, Garth knew none of the Easterners would mess with her. But now he was not so sure.

"Really, Garth, I can go find them myself," Lilly said. "We're not that far from the border, after all."

Garth knew this was true. By the agreement of all involved, he had chosen a den site near the Western border so that Lilly could safely get across if there was ever trouble. But he still did not want her anywhere in his territory unattended.

But Garth now saw two familiar faces standing next to Edgar. His somewhat-trusty Betas, Claw and Scar. An idea occurred to him.

"Claw, can you come over here, please?" he said, his stern voice a sharp contrast to the politeness of the words.

Claw cautiously entered into the den.

"Now, Claw," Garth said, "seeing as you're a female and Lilly's a female, I think I can trust you to take her over the border. Am I right?"

Behind them, Edgar practically choked. "Wait…. Claw's a girl?"

When Claw turned back from shaking her fist at Edgar in a threatening manner that he was nevertheless completely oblivious to, she saw Garth still waiting for her answer.

Garth raised his eyebrows, thus telling her to hurry up.

"Sir, if I may speak openly," Claw answered as she gave a nervous salute, "I find it disturbing that you seem to think all females are the same, sir."

"Come on, I know how girls work," Garth said. "You're all about sisterhood and girl power and stuff like that."

Claw could see Lilly rolling her eyes behind Garth. But for Claw, who was Garth's subordinate and not his mate, and on whom his whole attention was focused at this juncture, there could be no such expression of the annoyance she felt inside.

"Okay, sir, I'll take Miss Lilly to find Miss Kate and the other Omega," Claw said, resigning herself to the unpleasant task.

Garth nodded approvingly. "Great! I knew you'd agree. You always come through in the end, Claw!"

Claw tried to put on a false smile as Garth said this.

* * *

Claw and Lilly walked through a glade near the former East-West border. Though the packs were technically united, many were still having problems adapting to the fact that once-hated enemies were now one people. Claw was one of these.

"Come on, keep up!" she barked behind her.

There, Lilly was slowly following after her. "Okay, okay," Lilly said as she tried to increase her pace.

But, for the most part, Claw was glad that Lilly kept to herself and kept behind her. She did not want to have to fraternize (or sororize, as Garth would have it), with someone she could not respect. And she felt that she could never respect a weak, naïve, Western Omega.

Claw just wanted to get the onerous task over with. They had to be nearing the Western border now, even if they had not caught sight nor scent of Kate and Humphrey. Claw dreaded being stuck on the Western end of the valley and trying to look all over for where those two might be. Ever since she and Scar had sabotaged Kate's first hunt, they were not exactly the most popular wolves with the Westerners. Who could say if any of them would decide to get payback if they found her by herself on their turf?

And she certainly did not expect Lilly to be able to save her.

Then Claw heard something. She picked up a scent. She could tell that someone she knew was nearby. She turned her head slyly over to a nearby tree to see Scar beckoning to her. Claw began to walk forward to meet him, but had to look over her shoulder to ensure that Lilly was paying no attention. The white wolf was just staring down at the white ground and walking forward as though still trailing her. Claw knew Lilly would not notice if she made a quick detour.

Claw rushed over to where Scar was.

"Still hanging with the runt?" he joked.

"Oh, let's see you try it and be so comical!" she barked back.

"I just thought you'da ditched her long ago. Especially when there's so much else to do!"

Claw smiled smugly. "Oh yeah, you'd just like that, wouldn't you? Then she gets eviscerated by one of our friends and Garth has me exiled for it!"

Scar smiled back. "Oh, come on. She'll be fine. You're practically on the Western side of the valley already. Besides, word is that Garth and Edgar have tracked down the caribou-thieves and are about to make the big bust. You don't want to miss that, do ya?"

Claw thought for a moment. She did not want to miss the bust, but she knew she could not leave Lilly alone. "Don't tempt me! You know Garth will kill me if I suddenly show up without having fulfilled my mission! We've got 'valuable' cargo here, after all."

"How many times do I have to say she'll be fine?" Scar exclaimed. "We'll just tell Garth you dropped her off with Kim and Harvey–"

"Kate and Humphrey."

"I like my names for them better. Anyway, we'll just say you dropped Her Highness off with them and got back in time for the big bust. It's not like she's one to speak up against anybody!"

Claw glanced over at Lilly, who was still walking and was now, to Claw's utter annoyance, humming to herself. She turned back to Scar and nodded slowly. Claw would do it. What was the worst that could happen?

"Hey, pip-squeak!" Claw called out. "You should be able to find your own way from here! But I gotta go! Important Beta business!"

"Okie-dokie," Lilly called back sweetly. "Good luck!"

Claw followed Scar through the trees as they made their way to where Scar had left Garth and Edgar. It was exciting to have some sort of disturbance in the pack, as both Claw and Scar had gotten awfully bored with peace. Both their excitement and the blinding snow coming down all around them obscured from their vision the two other wolves until it was too late.

These were not Garth and Edgar, but two brown wolves. One was tall and thin, the other was short and stocky, but otherwise they looked exactly alike. As the four fell into what can best be described as a lupine car-crash, Claw screamed, "Zeke, Alvin, what is wrong with you two?"

"What's wrong with us?" the tall one, Alvin, said. "What's wrong with you, lady? We're out here trying to help Garth catch them caribou-smugglers, and you just come, quick as you like, and smack straight into us!"

"Yeah," Zeke, his brother, added. "What was we supposed to do? You crazy dame and your buddy here have messed us up… again! It's always the same with you two losers!"

"Who you callin' losers?" both Claw and Scar shouted at the same time.

Suddenly, they all heard laughing. Claw and Scar naturally assumed that their rivals were laughing at them, but it became clear after checking on them through their contorted body positions that this was not the case. All four looked up to see a certain spectacled black wolf-dog looking down at them.

"Ah, you simple country folk are great," Walton said as he pointed at them. "This'll give me some great material for my next book! It's just great."

And then he sauntered off, mightily pleased with what he had just witnessed. Claw, Scar, and the other two exchanged awkward looks before all getting to their feet.

Claw and Scar were about to say more to their rivals when they heard someone else coming from the trees. Out stepped Garth with Edgar following behind.

"I'm sure the caribou-thieves would be here, sir!" Edgar said apologetically. "They just have to be."

Garth shook his head in disgust. "That's the last time I listen to one of your conspiracy theories, Edgar! You made me put the whole Eastern pack on alert to find these so-called 'caribou thieves,' only to lead us on a wild-goose chase in the end!"

"But there were caribou-thieves, honest!" Edgar protested. "I tracked them myself!"

But he no longer had Garth's attention. Garth had noticed Claw and Scar in his presence.

"Claw, did you get it Lilly to Kate and Humphrey like I asked?"

Claw put on a large, fake smile. "Of course, I did, sir! You know me, always coming through for you and Miss Lilly! You know how loyal I am to you and Miss Lilly and how I'd never do anything to mess up your commands! I took her right to Kate and Humphrey and made sure that everything was okay!"

"Good," Garth said as he sighed in relief. "For a moment I was worried about – Hey, who's there?"

Garth had heard someone coming from behind them. All the Easterners quickly turned to see Humphrey and Kate stepping into view.

"Hey, Barf! How's it going in the big, bad East?" Humphrey said with a wide grin.

"Sorry we're late," Kate said, "but a few of Humphrey's many friends wanted to play games with us. It took us a while to get out of that."

"Yep," Humphrey said. "But we're here now. So, if Lilly's ready, we'll just take her and leave you guys to your oh-so-important Eastern business."

"Lilly?" Garth answered, his eyes filled with panic. "I thought she was with you!"

"Why would she be with us?" Kate said, panic filling her voice as well. "I told you we'd come get her. Garth, where's my sister?"

Garth now turned his furious attention to Claw. "You said you brought her to Humphrey and Kate! You said you obeyed my orders! You said that she was with you the whole time! Claw, what did you do with her?"

Claw smiled anxiously. "Did I say she was with me the whole time? Well, the thing is, sir, I may have been exaggerating just a little. Maybe there was a moment or two when I… kinda… didn't stay with her?"

"YOU WHAT?" Garth and Kate hollered together.

But then, suddenly, another scream pierced the glade. Everyone was on edge, for they at first believed it to be Lilly's. But then they realized that it was not feminine. It was a male scream. Zeke's scream.

Alvin now came running through the glade. Somehow, he and Zeke must have slipped off when nobody was paying attention. "Come quick!" he shouted. "Something's happened to Zeke! I just know it! We were trying to go find Miss Lilly when we got separated! And then I heard the scream!"

Without another word, Garth, Humphrey, and Kate followed Alvin through the woods. Claw began to set off as well.

"Hey, where's Edgar?" Scar asked, realizing that the obnoxious Beta too had disappeared.

"Does it really matter where that creep is?" Claw called back as she disappeared behind the trees. Recognizing that the gravity of the situation perhaps commanded more attention than Edgar's vanishing act, Scar decided to go after her.

All the wolves rushed through the grey woods and through the snow. They went as fast as their legs could take them. Even Humphrey kept up with the rest of the group without showing the slightest hint of exhaustion. The main thought in Kate, Humphrey's and Garth minds was that, if such a bad thing had happened to Zeke, something truly terrible must have happened to Lilly.

Terrible indeed, but Garth, Humphrey, and Kate were not at all prepared for what they would see. For, as they broke through the woods onto a snowy slope, they saw Zeke, lying prone and unmoving on the ground in a pool of his own blood. And standing above him, with blood dripping down from her mouth all over her chest, was Lilly.

Lilly looked at each of them, pained and confused, wondering what all of her friends and family must think. The truth was, however, that they did not know what to think. Kate, Humphrey, and Garth looked from one to the other and then back to her.

None of them knew what to think. Murder, it seemed, had come to Jasper. And everything pointed to a single culprit; a shy, naïve, little white she-wolf named Lilly.

* * *

**Is it true?**

**Could Lilly have really done something so sinister?**

**And what will become of her now?**

**Read on to find out!**


	2. Trial?

**Guess what, everyone? After many months, the second installment of ****_Lilly on Trial _has finally arrived****! **

**I'd like to remind everyone that ****_Lilly on Trial _****is a part of ****_Alpha and Omega: The Series._**** If you like this story, then don't forget to follow our community (community/Alpha-and-Omega-The-Series/102949) and forum (forum/Alpha-and-Omega-The-Series/118805) for all of the latest updates on this and all of the stories in the Series.**

**Also, there has been a poll on my profile page for the last few months about whether you think Lilly is guilty or not. I'm still keeping the poll up for a little while, so be sure to answer if you haven't already.**

**I'd also like to thank Dancing Lunar Wolves for beta-reading, editing, and all around just helping to take this story from idea and rough draft to the finished product you're reading right now.**

**Now, I think you've waited long enough to find out what happens, so I'll let you get to it. **

**Without further ado, read on:**

* * *

**II. Trial? II.**

* * *

Once again, Lilly's eyes locked with the three wolves that formed her family. In each of their eyes, she saw the same thing; shock, confusion, possibly fear. Fear? Fear for her… or fear of her? They could not really fear her, could they?

"Lilly…." Kate said, too stunned to say any more.

"I didn't… I didn't…." Lilly began, looking toward Humphrey and then Kate and then her mate, but she was too flustered to finish the sentence.

Suddenly, before any more could be said, a sharp screaming was heard. Screaming from the very body lying prone on the ground before her.

"Help! Help!" Zeke screamed. "Help! She's trying to murder me! She's trying to rip my throat out!"

"He's alive!" Kate, Garth, Claw, and Scar shouted together.

"Get her away from my brother!" Alvin hollered. "Get that monster away from him before she finishes him off!"

"But… I didn't do–" Before Lilly could finish that sentence, she felt all the air knocked out of her. Claw and Scar had rushed from their places and had ripped her away from Zeke. Lilly felt her tail and paws burn against the snow as the two Betas started dragging her to who knows where.

"Unpaw her!" Garth ordered. "Unpaw my mate, you two!"

Claw and Scar halted in their tracks and looked nervously over their shoulders. They were torn. Pack law said they should restrain any attempted murderer immediately, but they were now going against the orders of their immediate superior. And both knew that, wherever Lilly was concerned, getting on Garth's bad side could be almost as bad as getting on Eve's.

So, wisely, they quickly dropped the Omega and, much less wisely, let her fall hard into the snow.

"Owe," Lilly said instinctively as she landed on a particularly icy patch.

"Lilly!" Garth screamed as he ran over. "Oh, if she's hurt, I'm going to kill you two!"

Claw and Scar exchanged terrified glances and then made a show of checking on Lilly. They turned her over and wiped away the snow on her chest to reveal blood.

"She's bleeding!" Garth snapped. "You two are dead!"

"Um, but sir," Claw said, trying to wipe the blood off her paw. "That's Zeke's blood from earlier."

This was enough to snap back Garth's mind to the tragedy which had just nearly occurred. Meanwhile, unable to get the blood off her paw, Claw tried to wipe it off on Lilly.

"Claw!" Garth barked.

Claw jumped. "I'm sorry, sir, but it's just, she looks like a roll of Bounty already, and I figured since she's already got most of it on her…."

"Just don't touch her anymore, either of you!" Garth ordered, causing the two to jump up and scurry to a safer distance.

He lifted Lilly up and wrapped his forepaws around her. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Lilly did not answer. She merely kept looking downward.

"That fiend tried to murder my brother, and you're asking her if she's okay?" Alvin yelped. "What's wrong with you?"

Garth gave him a stern, burning look, reminded Alvin who was in charge here.

"I mean, what's wrong with you, _sir_?" Alvin said, giving a little salute and trying his best to sound more respectful.

Kate could tell from the look on Garth's face that he was not about to let a subordinate talk to him like this and there might be more trouble than there already was. Someone needed to take command here, before this turned from attempted murder to a street fight. Someone with the calm, clear-headedness, and aura of authority to keep everyone from losing it.

Kate sighed. _I always have to do everything myself,_ she thought.

"Claw, Scar," Kate said swiftly. "Our healers' den isn't too far from here. Hurry Zeke there and maybe Reba and Janice can save his life."

Claw and Scar merely stood there and stared blankly back at Kate.

"Just do it!" Garth ordered, with the sound in his voice that he would not order twice.

Claw and Scar jumped up and rushed over, picking up Zeke and beginning to scurry off.

"Wait, you're going to trust my brother to Westerners… and _vegetarians_ at that?" Alvin said with strong disapproval. "They'll kill him to make vegetable stew!"

"Just go with them, Alvin!" Garth commanded. Alvin grunted a little to show his displeasure but he knew that he could not afford to get any more on Garth's bad side. He could do nothing but obey.

This left Garth, Kate, and Humphrey to deal with Lilly. Kate had been waiting for her opportunity all this time and, now that it was just family present, she was ready to take charge.

She hurriedly walked up to Lilly. Lilly saw the look in her sister's eyes and immediately made to explain herself. "I didn't… I didn't… I was just trying to help…."

"Lilly, just tell me one thing," Kate said frantically. "Just tell me one thing, Lilly. That boulder, you see that boulder over there?"

Lilly looked behind her to where Kate was pointing. At the end of the clearing, there was a boulder; not a very large one, but noticeable since it was the only such feature around.

"Yeah," Lilly said quietly.

"Okay, Lilly," Kate said, not slowing down for an instant, "now, when you found Zeke, where was it? Did you find him on this side of the boulder, or that side? This side, or that side?"

Lilly shook her head swiftly and anxiously. "I… I don't know…."

"Come on, Lilly, come on!" Kate said, almost snapping. "Which side was it?"

"Come on, Kate," Humphrey said. "I don't get what it matters which side of some random boulder it was on. I think Lilly had a few other, more important things on her mind."

But Kate did not respond to Humphrey. She did not even acknowledge his presence at all. She just kept staring at Lilly.

"Come on, Lilly, it's important!" Kate said. "You have to remember!"

Behind Kate, Humphrey looked quizzically at his mate and then at Garth. He was surprised, with Kate giving Lilly the third degree, that Garth was not jumping in to tell Kate to back off. He certainly never had a problem before with that where Lilly was concerned.

Instead, Garth was just staring at Kate, suggesting that he wanted to say something, but knew it would be better not to. He just hugged Lilly tighter and whispered in her ear, "Come on, honey, can't you remember at all? Maybe a tiny bit?"

Lilly closed her eyes hard as she tried to remember. "I think… I think… it was on that side…. We ended up moving a little when I tried to help him, but it was on that side…."

As Lilly opened her eyes, Kate closed hers in relief. "Thank Heaven," she said.

"What? Why?" Humphrey said. "What could that possibly matter?"

Kate swiftly turned to face him. "It's a border marker, Humphrey. Because it happened on our side of the border, the Western side, it means it falls under our jurisdiction. That means I can handle it."

"But it was an Eastern wolf," Garth said, standing up. "Kate, you know the law. That fact alone gives me the right to call for extradition."

Humphrey shook his head. "Hey, I thought we were one big United Pack now! What's with all this talk?"

Kate shook her head. "We never got around to synchronizing the pack laws for both East and West. So we're still two separate jurisdictions as far as dealing with crime goes."

Humphrey tried to put on a smile. "Alphas! We try to keep you guys working for the good of the packs, but you always have to go off and play around instead. See what happens when you slack off?"

But Kate could not think about humor right now. Instead, she focused on Garth. "But, you're not actually going to enforce that, are you? You know what the Eastern wolves'll do if they get half a chance to get their paws on Lilly!"

"Are you saying something about my pack, Kate?" Garth said with something close to a snarl.

Kate gave him an 'oh, come on!' look. "You saw what Claw and Scar nearly did to her just now! You really want this to be under Eastern jurisdiction?"

"Guys, guys, guys!" Humphrey said, coming between them. "Is here really the best place to discuss things? All out in the open? Especially when some people are, um, _sensitive?_"

Humphrey pointed past them to Lilly, who had now started silently crying to herself.

As Garth ran over to comfort her, Kate nodded. "You're right, Humphrey," she said, "we need to get this someplace more private."

* * *

A crowd gathered under the cliff upon which was seated Winston and Eve's den. It seemed as though all of the Western wolves had come together to try and figure out what was going on. Nobody seemed really sure what had happened, but everybody knew something had and that it was not something good. And whenever that happens, people cannot help but wag tongues.

"What's happening?" Sweets said as she arrived. "What's everybody so excited about?"

"Word is that there's been a murder or something," Candy responded. "They say an Eastern wolf got offed and that Lilly did it!"

"Lilly!" Sweets exclaimed. "Hardly! As if Lilly could really do something like that! But you know what it is, don't you? They always blame the Omegas when something goes wrong! It's always our fault, no matter what."

"Shhh… Shhh…." Candy shushed. "Someone might hear you!"

"But it's true!" Sweets continued – becoming even louder just to show what she thought of her friend's advice. "We have to take the fall for everything around here!"

As they continued speaking like this, Sweets and Candy turned their gazes upward, to where they could just see Hutch and Can-do along the path leading to the cave, blocking anybody from interfering with the private family conference above.

The scene inside the cave was much like the one out in the snow before. All four wolves were gathered around in basically the same relative positions.

"Can I wash this blood off yet?" Lilly asked innocently.

Kate shook her head. "No, Lilly, that's evidence. You can't wash it off yet."

"But just looking down at it is making me sick!"

"I know, Lilly, I know, but we have to follow the law for now."

Humphrey winked at Lilly from behind Kate. "Besides, it looks good on you," he said. "The red's a nice contrast to the white and purple."

Instead of having the effect Humphrey intended, this just made Lilly shiver more. He was rewarded for his futile effort with a glare from Garth and an elbow from Kate.

"But what are we going to do now?" Garth asked.

Kate sighed. "We have to uphold the law."

"But… I didn't do anything!" Lilly protested. "I didn't hurt Zeke! I was trying to help him! There was another wolf there that did it, I think!"

"Another wolf?" the three other wolves said together.

"Lilly, that's important!" Kate said. "Do you remember anything else about this wolf you saw?"

Lilly tapped her paw against her head and seemed to fall into thought. Her eyes closed and she made a sort of pouting face like one does when trying to remember something with considerable effort. When she opened her eyes, however, they were filled with disappointment.

"I… didn't get a good look at him…." Lilly admitted. "Or it could have been a 'her', I guess…. It all happens so fast, and they were covered in snow…. I couldn't make out anything!"

"That's okay, honey," Garth said, patting her back reassuringly.

"Still, it's not much of a lead." Kate said. "Does anybody remember if there was any other sign of another wolf? Pawprints or something?"

Garth and Humphrey just looked at her. Then they shook their heads.

"It was all so fast," Humphrey said.

"I don't think any of us really paid attention," Garth added, "but I don't recall seeing anything like that."

Kate let out another long sigh and followed it with a sad shake of her head. "We're going to have to go through with the trial."

"Trial!" Lilly and Humphrey said together in disbelief. That Garth showed no disbelief at this was almost as disheartening to Lilly as hearing Kate say it. It demonstrated that he had already been expecting this all along.

"It's the law…." Kate said quietly. "Without anybody but Lilly as a possible culprit, we have to do it."

"But I didn't do anything, sis!" Lilly yelped.

"I know, Lilly, I know," Kate answered sadly. "But it is still the law."

"Kate, Kate, Kate," Humphrey said, "Come on, you can't be serious! Laws, smaws – we're the ones who broke the laws, remember? And, really, what's the point of marrying into the ruling family if it doesn't make us immune to the laws?"

"That's just the thing, Humphrey," Kate responded, gaining a little more of her force. "We're not above the laws because we're the rulers. If anything, that makes us more subject to the laws than any of the other wolves. We can't just go around them whenever we feel like it!"

"Um, we kinda already did," Humphrey said with a sly smile and a wink. "Remember, um, getting married, by chance? It was kinda a big deal at the time."

Kate shook her head. "Yes, I remember, and that's exactly why we can't go against the laws now. It was a pretty big change when we got married and that barely happened. So if we don't hold a trial, people will start thinking that we don't care about the laws and just throw them out whenever it suits our own whims."

"I thought that is what we do," Humphrey said. "Besides, it sounds like a pretty good way of doing things to me,"

Kate's head shook even more forcefully this time. "But not to anybody else. If they're ever going to look up to us as leaders of a United Pack and respect our marriages, we have to show them that changing the law there did not put us above the law completely. We have to show that we're capable of defending the laws and protecting order and justice in our pack, even if it hurts us to do so."

Humphrey tilted his head from side to side as he considered this. "Well, I guess…. If you care about things like having your pack trust you…. Okay…."

"But… I… didn't… do… anything!" Lilly protested again, now coming close to yelling in hysterics.

"I'm sorry, Lilly, but this is the way it has to be," Kate said. Turning to the other two, she said, "Of course, it's my duty to act as judge."

Garth stepped forward. "I don't know, Kate. I really think that I should still be judge, since Lilly is my mate. I still have the right to demand that, since Zeke is an Eastern wolf."

"I'm guessing there's nothing in the pack laws about an impartial judiciary," Humphrey grumbled.

"I know you do, Garth," Kate said gently. "But I'm asking you, for Lilly's sake, not to use it."

Lilly's and Garth's heads tilted and eyes grew narrow at the same moment, two wolves of one mind. "What do you mean for Lilly's/my sake," they said together.

"Garth," Kate said, "if you make this an Eastern Pack trial, you'll have to appoint somebody to defend Lilly and somebody to prosecute her. And do you really want to trust Claw or Scar or Edgar with that responsibility?"

"I don't want to trust Edgar with the responsibility of finding his way out of his own den in the morning," Garth responded. "But there are other wolves in the East besides those three, you know."

"Anyone you'd trust with defending Lilly?"

Garth's eyes turned downward in a rare lapse of his usual bravado. "Well, no…."

"That's why I'm asking you," Kate said, in the sweetest and nicest tone she had ever used toward the Easterner, "please let this stay a Western Pack matter. Let me keep it under our jurisdiction. I can't stop this from going ahead, but at least that way I can protect Lilly by appointing counselors who have her best interests in heart."

Garth paused for a moment and looked around the den, avoiding her amber eyes. But Kate could tell that he understood her line of argument. Finally he nodded. "You're right, Kate. As much as I want to be the one there, I couldn't protect Lilly like that. It would be better if this remained a Western Pack matter."

But then, a question filled his eyes and soon came out of his mouth. "But then, who are you going to get to be the prosecutor and the defense?"

A light, furtive smile appeared on Kate's otherwise sad lips. She walked over to the den entrance. "Oh, Hutch, Can-do, can you come here please?"

"But ma'am, what about the crowd?" came Hutch's voice back.

"They should be fine for now," Kate said. "Besides, they'll have to know soon enough."

And, just like that, Hutch and Can-do were there. But whether from a sense of awe and confusion, or a mere disbelief that these two stalwarts were leaving their posts, the crowd did not follow. Rather, a hush came over them as they waited to see what this new development could mean.

"Hutch, Can-do," Kate said, with all the authority of a leader. "I have a very special role for the both of you."

"Does it involve the crime Lilly's accused of, ma'am?" Hutch asked.

"Crime, ha!" Can-do barked. "As far as I'm concerned, those Easterners had it comin'! Only thing would have been better is if whoever did it had taken out one of those two guys who ruined your hunt, ma'am!"

"You know one of those 'guys' was a girl, right?" Hutch asked.

Can-do gasped. "You mean the brown one, with the scars… was a girl?"

Hutch just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"It does have to do with these accusations," Kate explained. "As I'm sure both of you are aware, the only thing we can do now is hold a trial to determine whether Lilly is innocent or not. Of course, I'll be the judge and the ultimate decision has to come from me, but I need someone to argue both sides and then, in the interest of fairness, I'll have to go with whichever side makes the best case."

"Are you sure you want to go through with that, ma'am?" Can-do asked.

"Can-do, she has to," Hutch said. "It's the law."

"Precisely," Kate said. "And I can't think of any wolves I'd have more faith in to execute those roles properly than you two."

Hutch and Can-do looked uneasily at each other. "If I may ask," Hutch said, "which role goes to whom?"

"I thought that would be obvious. Hutch will be representing the defense and Can-do the prosecution."

Another exchange of uneasy looks followed.

"But, why do I have to be the prosecution?" Can-do complained.

Kate had not been expecting this response – to her, it was readily apparent – and had to improvise an explanation on the spot. "Because, Can-do… you tend to be the most… forceful in stating your opinions…."

When Can-do still seemed perplexed, Humphrey added, "She means you like to yell a lot."

Can-do considered. "Well, I do like to yell…."

Now Kate turned to Hutch. "And for the job of the steely defender who goes to whatever lengths necessary to see that his client gets a fair trial, I could only think of the most trustworthy and dauntless Beta in the whole of Jasper."

Kate had expected Hutch to be pleased with this compliment, but instead, he turned his eyes to his paws, one of which began to kick the ground nervously.

"I guess, if that's what you want, we have to do it…." he said quietly. "We'll carry out Lilly's trial to the best of our abilities."

"Why isn't anybody listening?" Lilly piped up. "There shouldn't be a trial because I didn't do anything!"

"I know, dear, I know," Garth said reassuringly as he patted her shoulder. But then he got back up and approached Kate once again. "But, even if I'm not the judge, I'd still feel better if there was some way I could help. Someway I could do something for Lilly."

Kate now turned to him and, to his surprise, threw her foreleg over his shoulder. She then threw the other one over Humphrey, who happened to be standing nearby.

"There is a way for you to help Lilly, both of you," Kate said slyly. "Just think, Garth, since you're not judging, you actually have a better opportunity to clear Lilly's name."

Garth merely looked confused. So did Humphrey. That is, until each one noticed how similar their expression was to the other and then tried to change it. This merely caused them to both look even more like each other, to their further embarrassment.

Kate could not help but smile at this. Yet, she recognized that she'd have to explain. "Because, since you won't be preoccupied with the trial, you can be out there tracking down the actual murderer!"

A smile came to Garth's lips as his emerald eyes filled with understanding. "Oh, I see…. I'll be able to sniff out who really did this and stop them. That way, you can throw out the trial and nothing bad will happen to Lilly!"

Kate nodded.

"But wait," Humphrey said. "Why do I have to get involved in this?"

"Yeah, Kate," Garth said, "why does Humphrey have to get involved?"

"Because, she's your sister-in-law, Humphrey," Kate said sternly. Then turning to Garth, she said, "And because you could use Humphrey's skill for thinking outside of the den in tracking down the real culprit. Putting your Alpha wits with his Omegas ones, you can't lose!"

"Humphrey does think out of something, I know, but I always thought it was out of his mind," Garth said, contemptuously eyeing the Omega. However, his look suddenly softened. "But if it helps to get Lilly scot-free, I'm willing to even put up with you."

He offered his paw as a sign of goodwill. But Humphrey, still stunned from this sudden change in Garth's demeanor, hesitated. He turned to Kate with a 'do I have to?' look in his eyes.

"Humphrey…." Kate said firmly, her eyes growing sharp and telling Humphrey that yes, he did.

So, reluctantly, Humphrey took Garth's paw and shook it. "Nice to be, uh, working with you, partner," he said.

"So, everything is set," Kate said. "Everybody knows their parts, right?"

When the four males hesitantly nodded in the affirmative, Kate continued, "Okay, good. I'm counting on each and every one of you to pull this off. We have to follow the law on this one, but maybe we can work something out to fix this whole mess and save my sister's life. Now, come on, we've got to go announce this to the pack."

And so, the wolves slowly walked out of the den and into the light of day, preparing to announce from the cliffs all that had been decided. But, as they walked out, each of them was buried too deep in their own thoughts to realize that they were missing the one wolf who was at the center of it all – the star of this soon-to-be three-ring circus, if you will.

Lilly continued to sit where she was, Zeke's red blood continually waging war with her white fur for possession of her chest and neck. She did not move at all from where she had been, and merely stared out with sullen and pained eyes.

"But why won't anybody listen?" said she. "I didn't do anything!"

* * *

**It looks like Jasper may just be in for the trial of the century.**

**How shall Lilly handle being at the center of it with her life on the line?**

**And shall her family and friends be able to clear her name in time?**

**Read on.**


End file.
